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GS (General Studies) Paper 1 UPSC Mains 2015

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See Essay Paper Here | See GS Paper 2 Here | See GS Paper 3 Here

Date: December 19                                                                                                                                                                                 Duration: 3 hours

 

Instructions: Answer the following questions in not more than 200 words each. Contents of the answers are more important than their length. All questions carry equal marks.

Note: Each question carries 12.5 Marks (12.5×20 = 200 Marks )

 

1. The ancient civilization in Indian sub continent differed from those of Egypt , Mesopotamia and Greece in that its culture and traditions have been preserved without breakdown to the present day. Comment (12.5M)

2. Mesolithic rock cut architecture of India not only reflects the cultural life of the times but also a fine aesthetic sense comparable to modern painting. Critically evaluate this comment. (12.5M)

3. How difficult would have been the achievement of Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss.

4. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. B R Ambedkar, despite having divergent approaches and strategies, had a common goal of amelioration of the downtrodden. Elucidate. (12.5M)

5. It would have been difficult for the Constituent Assembly to complete its historic task of drafting the Constitution for Independent India in just three years, but its experience gained with the Government of India Act, 1935 .Discuss.(12.5M)

6. Why did the industrial revolution first occur in England? Discuss the quality of life of the people there during the industrialization. How does it compare with that in India at present times?

7. To what extend can Germany be held responsible for causing the two World Wars? Discuss critically.

8. Describe any four cultural elements of diversity in India and rate their relative significance in building a national identity.

9. Critically examine whether growing population is the cause of poverty OR poverty is the mains cause of population increase in India.

10. How do you explain the statistics that show that the sex ratio in Tribes in India is more favourable to women than the sex ratio among Scheduled Castes?

11. Discuss the changes in the trends of labour migration within and outside India in the last four decades.

12. Discuss the positive and negative effects of globalization on women in India?

13. Debate the issue whether and how contemporary movements for assertion of Dalit identity work towards annihilation of caste.

14. Explain the factors responsible for the origin of ocean currents. How do they influence regional climates, fishing and navigation?

15. Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three Mega cities of the country but the air pollution is much more serious probelm in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?

16. India is well endowed with fresh water resources. Critically examine why it still suffers from water scarcity.
17. The states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are reaching the limits of econological carrying capacity due to tourism. Critically evaluate.
18. How far do you agree that the behaviour of the Indian monsoon has been changing due to humanizing landscape? Discuss.

19. Smart cities in India cannot sustain without smart vilages. Discuss this statement in the backdrop of rural urban integration.

20. What are the economic significances of discovery of oil in Arctic Sea and its possible environemental consequences?

Comments

51 responses to “GS (General Studies) Paper 1 UPSC Mains 2015”

  1. bhamboo Avatar
    bhamboo

    Oops such misreading.. still good that the diversion is not so much from the demand of the question.

  2. bhamboo Avatar
    bhamboo

    the conclusion is really comprehensive….

  3. arjunXT Avatar
    arjunXT

    well the question is from AL basham’s book and the answer is simple…Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations lost their link with their ancient culture because of loss of their indigenous religion. Their traditions were replaced by Islamic tradition while on other hand Indian civilization was so structured that religion was the basis of lifestyle and actions of people and it was not possible to separate religion from culture. Thus even under the impact of foreign invaders Indians never lost their indigenous religion and thus preserved their cultural identity.

  4. Durby Avatar
    Durby

    Thank you Sir. You have answered what I needed. This question can’t be answered without knowing other three civilisations. And clearly we have not read much about them. So picking up some common points is the only way out. As you have mentioned.

  5. Shades Avatar
    Shades

    Egypt, Mesopotamia (Iraq) were not inhabited by Muslims in ancient times.Similarly Greece whose ancient name was Yunan was also not inhabited by Christians. Now, you must have read about Pyramids in Egypt. Do you find its continuation to present day? Similarly in Greece,in ancient times there were different type of Gods like God of wine etc.Now a days Christianity prevails there.Since we have not in syllabus ancient world history, we have only option to use these fetching points. Now let us come to India. We were the followers of vedic culture in ancient times. Now if you observe, you will find that some vedic gods like indra etc are still worshipped. Similarly we still practice yajna which was prevalent in ancient times. Personification of natural forces is one of the very ancient tradition which still dominates in our culture. We worship trees, rivers etc.which is called personification of natural forces . Similarly some of the ancient practices like yoga, ayurveda are still have a lot of value in our society. The Varna system and caste system which developed in ancient times are still preserved. Phallus worship (Linga Pooja) in some forms can be traced to Harappan times and it is still very strongly present in our society.
    If you go to Egypt,Mesopotamia and Greece you won’t find even a trace of ancient culture. But think about India. Here people even now have preserved Vedas, Puranas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharta and books written by Chanakya, Charak ,Patanjali etc. It is not only about preserving but people still have believe in the contents of those books. You will find people reciting Ramayana etc. Drama based on Ramayana (Ram Lila) is also a very old tradition.
    Finally I have not written answer from the perspective of ias an ias exam answer. I wrote because you wanted some hints regarding the answer. I have a lot of interest in ancient India so wrote about that. Now a days what UPSC demanding is analytical answers. So keep things analyzing not while reading but also when traveling outside to different parts of India. Last but not least the answers is my personal opinion which might be completely wrong.

  6. Durby Avatar
    Durby

    Can anyone please shed some light on the first question?

    The ancient civilization in Indian sub continent differed from those of Egypt , Mesopotamia and Greece in that its culture and traditions have been preserved without breakdown to the present day. Comment

  7. Anand R Avatar
    Anand R

    Nice questions were asked.

  8. आशीष Avatar
    आशीष

    ——————ADMIN———————–

    post in HINDI too

  9. Shades Avatar
    Shades

    Answer 19: The development of technology in contemporary times has not left anything untouched and hence the use of it for modifying the abodes of humans is not an exception. Although, the definition of a smart city is a debated concept, there is a consensus among experts that it uses modern technology like IT, Censors etc. to solve existing problems and tackling emerging problems. A city is always sustained by the surplus production in agriculture which is contribution of villages. Hence there should be simultaneous efforts towards making both villages and cities smart in India. Related points are as follows:
    1- Only making cities smart without doing the same for villages will give rise to food security problems.The smart villages fitted with modern technology like extension services will boost agricultural productivity and marketing which will be helpful in sustaining smart cities. The discrepancies in supplies of agricultural production to cities and industrial production to villages could be tackled by integrating both via modern technology.
    2- The modern technology is useful but if a particular area is extremely overpopulated, it will not work . There has been a lot of population pressure on urban areas in recent times causing immense problems like extreme pollution and traffic. Making villages smart along with cities will be very useful in keeping a population balance in rural and urban areas

    Finally, the use of modern technology has different applications in rural and urban areas in India. While in urban areas it is intended to tackle problems like traffic, water and electric supply, pollution control etc. in rural areas it is intended to solve the problem of Internet connectivity, agricultural information and marketing etc.The smart cities and smart villages if developed together will be very useful in sustaining each other and improving the well being of the nation as a whole.

    Please give your opinion on my answer.

  10. Sri Avatar
    Sri

    Thanks Shades for clearing my doubt. I was just confused as to how mesolithic rock paintings can be called mesolithic rock architecture 😀

  11. Shades Avatar
    Shades

    First of all I too have not listened about mesolithic rock cut architecture. Secondly, how we can compare rock cut architecture with modern painting. Can we compare two entirety different features of art.Also the first rock cut architecture in India belongs to the Maurya period. Hence , we must have considered the question in an another way. Actually, the rock caves were the abode of early humans and hence they must have been architectured by them according to their convenience. Now, in mesolithic period, we find Bhimbetka rocks as an important mesolithic site.This site is famous for its painting and it is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a plethora of study material on Bhimbetka paintings and it is this painting which could be compared with modern paintings and also reflect cultural and aesthitic sense of the time.
    Don’t worry if you have not wrote the answer.History is my optional and thats why I am able to provide this opinion. The Question is not easy for non-history optional students. Also, you should never assume that you would be familiar with all the questions in civil services exam. Those who are saying that the paper was easy and they knew all the answers are forgetting that upscale is not a qualifying exam but a relative exam.If someone knows all the questions, I request them to enlighten us by writing answers here and that too within 3 hours. Let then others analyze

  12. Vikram Sinha Avatar
    Vikram Sinha

    affirmative ma’am. keep suggesting us
    viikram.sinha@gmail.com

  13. Shades Avatar
    Shades

    You have provided best conclusion…Completely agree with you . Since the question has mentioned gandhi, more weight should be given to his ideas.

  14. gk Avatar
    gk

    Cut off may go higher than previous year..

  15. ajeet Avatar
    ajeet

    you write out of context,only one side please maintain needness of question…
    you write fact about work of gandhi ji not what did effect of absence of gandhi ji

  16. rohit Avatar
    rohit

    completely agree. I was not able to recollect more points that’s why keep on explaining only those 2 points which made my answer quite narrow. should’ve recollected more points.
    Moreover, I misread different as difficult and accordingly answered which made it even slight far from demand of that question.

  17. rohit Avatar
    rohit

    yea. misread the question ! but then again I would’ve included only these 2 points but with different context.

  18. rohit Avatar
    rohit

    actually it’s different in stead of difficult. i wrote considering it as difficult 🙂 misread the question !

  19. Sri Avatar
    Sri

    Can some please tell me what is mesolithic rock architecture ? Please.. i haven’t heard of it ever.. i know rock paintings and monolithic architecture..but not mesolithic rock architecture

  20. Merit List Avatar
    Merit List

    Typo….in question it was ‘different’

  21. Ankit D Avatar
    Ankit D

    How difficult would have been the achievement of Indian independence without Mahatma Gandhi? Discuss.

    This is the question or this is a typo?

  22. sonnyhingham Avatar
    sonnyhingham

    No, buddy, you are totally in the wrong direction. You misread the question itself. It’s not ‘difficult’ but it’s ‘different’…so I guess your direction has gone awry.

  23. nitish Avatar
    nitish

    this year only 20 questions

  24. Ankit D Avatar
    Ankit D

    I like the answer but i think it very narrow but depth is there. When I thought of the answer I thought of giving background of what Congress was doing before the arrival of Gandhiji. Like how the split in moderates and swarajists was fresh and the reunion was yet to find the way forward. IT was split in its ideology of taking a confrontational approach or work on reformist approach. Also the divide with Muslim League and rising voices of communalism was threatening the national integrity. Gandhiji not only gave means of struggle he also carefully got Muslims of India rally for struggle during Non cooperation movement by linking it with Khilafat.

  25. Sidharth Avatar
    Sidharth

    12.5*20 = 250.

  26. Born Single Avatar
    Born Single

    200 marks. have we been told about this change?

  27. ranvirsingh.iitr Avatar
    ranvirsingh.iitr

    Fully agree with you that conclusion is not good at all, it would definitely lead to deduction of 1-2 marks.

    At the same time, i think this question should have to do more with India’s freedom movement and Gandhi ji’s unique contribution, though can’t deny the fact that the points you have mentioned are absolutely correct. It was simply not possible for Britain to carry on with colonies or it was not viable for them.

    Hence as per my view question should better have been answered with 70% focus on Gandhi ji’s methods(which were unique) and 20-30% on what was going in the world and how difficult it would have been.

    and conclusion can be like: Though Gandhi ji’s contribution is irreplaceable in how he united the whole nation and mobilised masses but at the same time it would be wrong to say that India would have struggled too long for its independence in absence of Gandhi ji as it was also becoming highly difficult for for Britishers (partly due to crippling of economy and partly due to the changed atmosphere throughout the world) to carry on with the business of colonies as is evident from the fact that many asian and african countries got independence in 1940-1960s.

    We can always debate the fact that what India would have been after independence , if Gandhi ji was not involved in freedom struggle.

  28. Dolly_19 Avatar
    Dolly_19

    Your preparation must be good bro and the questions are moderate or easy as you say….but remember whats easy to you is easy to everyone…so I think we should not get complacent…with these kind of questions…answer writing,presentation, coherence of ideas etc would become very necessary…we might know the content but how we present it in the paper is something which will count …we need to stand out among others….So I think practicing answer writing would prove to be the differential…
    Note : This is what I told to myself after reading the above questions, thought it would help you too.. 🙂

  29. Here4mymother Avatar
    Here4mymother

    IMHO, The paper is such that, anyone can get 5 out of 12.5, with average preparation, for each question. But the amount you’ve studied, determines if you can get 7 out of 12.5, which should put you up on the rank list.

  30. Hitech27 Avatar
    Hitech27

    Totally agree with you bro

  31. Warrior_007 Avatar
    Warrior_007

    Bro chil bill ..he is just commenting 😀

  32. rohit Avatar
    rohit

    yes bro. I thought of including more points but couldn’t recollect. so, explained a bit those 2 points only instead of adding more points.

  33. vali Avatar
    vali

    excellent questions..

  34. bhamboo Avatar
    bhamboo

    in nutshell you highlighted two key contribution by Gandhi- turning it into mass movement & using non violence technique.

  35. rohit Avatar
    rohit

    ok bro..points taken

  36. VINOD Avatar
    VINOD

    pls post all answers as soon as possible

  37. Shades Avatar
    Shades

    I think you have wrote only one side of the story. First, what will be your opinion about Hitler whose wars crippled the British economy . During Second World War, Britain was destroyed most and it was impossible for him to retain colonies. It was the reason not only India but other colonies gained independence almost at the same time. So it is a matter of research that Hitler or Gandhi was more responsible for independence of India. Your conclusion is disgusting that India would have been struggling for freedom even today. If this is the case all the third world countries should be a colony today. Of course, the Gandhi ji contribution was immense and particularly his doctrine of non violence but there were also other factors. You may have concluded that without gandhi ji, there must have been a lot of mortalities in India.His doctrine of non violence saved a lot of people from dying as Western nations possessed a lot of weapons at that time. As gandhi ji had himself said that every British citizen will resort to taking arms in hands if needed which will destroy India . Further the new Government in Britain was not in favour of retaining India as a colony. According to me many factors unfavorable to Britain combined and culminated in the freedom of colonies.

  38. arpita sharma Avatar
    arpita sharma

    UPSC is finally settling towards analytical and reasoning type question in mains …

  39. Vikram Sinha Avatar
    Vikram Sinha

    i m preparing for upsc exam for the year2016. and i can say with full confidence that i can do maxm ques of this year. i dont know whether my prep is good or the ques are easy.

  40. Dr. Mrs Sushma Joiya Pandit Avatar
    Dr. Mrs Sushma Joiya Pandit

    It was believed that Objective type questions are asked by UPSC with negative marketing.

  41. rohit Avatar
    rohit

    I’ve attempted this qstn.Please review if I’m in right direction.

    How difficult would have been Indian independence without
    Gandhi ji ?

    Gandhiji has immensely contributed in Indian freedom struggle
    by his unique and effective way of non-violence, satyagrah and timely decision
    making skill regarding movements at different stages which assembled effort of
    not only leaders and upper class citizens but also of household population like
    Artisan, farmers, etc at bottom of the pyramid. He revolutionized and changed the
    direction of freedom struggle for good after starting the journey of freedom
    struggle.

    Gandhi ji rightly adopted path of non-violence instead of
    violence and aggressiveness which ultimately appealed every class of citizens
    including Artisans, framers, women, child who in other case might not have
    participated in freedom struggle considering physical requirement that it
    demanded at that time in the light of frequent face-off with British soldiers.
    In the absence of Gandhi’s Non-violence strategy, mass participation would’ve
    been almost impossible resulting in even longer struggle for freedom

    He transformed freedom struggle into mass movement by mobilizing
    Indian masses instead of letting it be specific to some higher class. He adopted simple strategies like salt
    satyagrah in 1930, non- cooperation movement in 1921 by which every Indian attached
    himself and came out in support of the struggle. In essence, every common man
    actively participated and contributed in India’s movement by adopting Gandhiji’s
    unique strategy in the absence of which it would’ve been really difficult.

    Weighing the contribution Gandhiji has made and considering
    the unique approach he adopted for waging Indian struggle, it can be rightly interpreted
    that in the absence of Gandhiji our freedom struggle would’ve been going on
    even today.

  42. sagy Avatar
    sagy

    almst questns r relatd 2 Hindu indirctly…

  43. phoenix15 Avatar
    phoenix15

    brothers….LETS WAIT FOR PAPER 2…real mood of upsc shall be revealed by that paper only..fingers crossed.

  44. phoenix15 Avatar
    phoenix15

    times of india padhega toh average marks se jyada bhi nahi aaeyga. !! take my words

  45. New_to_IAS_2016 Avatar
    New_to_IAS_2016

    Do we need to remember numers as well like some n%, how to write good answer? which fetches good marks ?

  46. Agulhas Avatar
    Agulhas

    Questions were general and the traditional books like bipan chandra have gone for toss. Just pleasure reading of various history books is what is required, notemaking will not help here.

  47. wings of fire Avatar
    wings of fire

    Being a mediocre student I have to work more hard to answer this questions properly.

  48. Sandeep Avatar
    Sandeep

    This year queation’s are more contemporary and to the point. One can score high with sound knowledge of contemporary issues across all verticals.

  49. Warrior_007 Avatar
    Warrior_007

    Thnx

  50. Abhishek Sinha` Avatar
    Abhishek Sinha`

    Questions are good covering contemporary topic at most. Apart from 2 or 3 questions most of them could be well attempted.

  51. VivekJ2 Avatar
    VivekJ2

    Questions were more to the point and easier than last year! 🙂

    One doesn’t need to do Hindu, even Times of India will do now 🙂

    Overall good questions!

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